G20 to intensify fight against corruption

Leaders of the G20 have committed to make their public administrations more resilient against corruption, ensuring that both companies and individual perpetrators are held to account.

The G20 met in Hamburg, Germany on 7-8 July to address major global economic challenges. “We remain committed to fighting corruption, including through practical international cooperation and technical assistance, and will continue to fully implement the G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan 2017-18,” the G20 stated in a joint declaration issued after the end of the two-day summit.

During that meeting, the G20 said it was taking “concrete actions to advance the three aims of building resilience, improving sustainability, and assuming responsibility.”

In its joint declaration, G20 leaders said they endorse the following four sets of ‘High Level Principles’ aimed at fostering integrity in the public and private sector:

“By endorsing the ‘High-Level Principles on the Liability of Legal Persons,’ we commit to ensuring that not only individual perpetrators but also companies benefitting from corruption can be held liable,” the G20 stated.

The G20 stated that it will continue its work to address integrity in sports “and urge international sports organisations to intensify their fight against corruption by achieving the highest global integrity and anti-corruption standards. In this respect, we strive for a common understanding regarding corruption risks in bids to host major sport events.” Fighting corruption in contracts, including in the natural resources sector, will also be a priority,

“We call for ratification and implementation by all G20 members of the UN Convention against Corruption and for a strong involvement in its review process,” the G20 said.

Financial Transparency. The G20 said it will also continue its work for a globally fair and modern international tax system and welcome international cooperation on pro-growth tax policies. “We remain committed to the implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) package and encourage all relevant jurisdictions to join the Inclusive Framework,” the G20 said.

“We look forward to the first automatic exchange of financial account information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in September 2017,” G20 stated. “We call on all relevant jurisdictions to begin exchanges by September 2018 at the latest.”

“We are also working on enhancing tax certainty and with the OECD on the tax challenges raised by digitalisation of the economy,” G20 stated. “As an important tool in our fight against corruption, tax evasion, terrorist financing and money laundering, we will advance the effective implementation of the international standards on transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements, including the availability of information in the domestic and cross-border context.”